All children deserve a safe, happy life — including the nearly 8,000 Georgia youth in foster care. Young people in foster care especially need nurturing adults on their side because their own families are in crisis and unable to care for them.

Each May, we salute the compassionate people who make a difference by serving as foster parents, relative caregivers, mentors, advocates, social workers, and volunteers. Thanks to these unsung heroes, many formerly abused or neglected children and teens will either safely reunite with their parents, be cared for by relatives, or be adopted by loving families.

But some children in foster care are less fortunate. Most communities across the state are urgently seeking more everyday people to help these youth realize their full potential. No matter what their age, every young person in foster care benefits from a meaningful connection to a caring adult who becomes a supportive and lasting presence in his or her life.

The number and diversity of people who were once in foster care might surprise you. In fact, there are an estimated 12 million foster care alumni in the U.S. representing all walks of life. Behind this startling statistic are countless stories of children who grew up to be thriving adults while others struggled with life’s challenges all alone. The difference between triumph and tragedy is very clear. Success stories come about when someone takes the time to offer comfort, provide support, give advice, or simply share a milestone moment with a youngster enduring a difficult family situation.

As part of the Foster Care Month celebration, foster parent organizations, child welfare advocates and private and public officials will sponsor and hold special events highlighting foster care as an important issue requiring better resources and support. On Tuesday, May 31, at 6:00 p.m., Appling County DFCS will hold an Orientation to IMPACT that will be open to the public. IMPACT is an acronym for Initial Interest Mutual Selection, Pre-Service Training Assessment and Continuing Development Teamwork is the required training that foster/adoptive parents must complete as part of the approval process to have a home opened in Georgia. They must first attend an Orientation to IMPACT session in order to be invited to IMPACT training. Anyone interested in becoming a foster or adoptive parent is invited to attend. Please come and join us at the Appling County DFCS office.

No matter how much time you have to give, you have the power to do something positive that will “Change a Lifetime” for a young person in foster care. For more information on how you can help, please visit www.fostercaremonth.org or call Rebecca Jones at Appling County DFCS at 912-366-1010 regarding the scheduled orientation. Please call the State of Georgia’s inquiry line at 1-877-210-KIDS for more information on how to become a foster or adoptive parent today.

E-Mail addresses will not be displayed and will only be used for E-Mail notifications.

To prevent automated Bots from commentspamming, please enter the string you see in the image below in the appropriate input box. Your comment will only be submitted if the strings match. Please ensure that your browser supports and accepts cookies, or your comment cannot be verified correctly.Enter the string from the spam-prevention image above:

Remember Information? Subscribe to this entry

Submitted comments will be subject to moderation before being displayed.